Thomas Krasonis admits that he was lucky to escape from the Big One, stating that he was close to losing everything that he and Marko Stipp Motorsport worked for the Valencia opener.
Thomas Krasonis started his 2024 EuroNASCAR campaign with more than a few highlights. His on-track results were impressive in its own right, but it was his lucky escape from the Big One on EuroNASCAR PRO Race 2 that has been generating the headlines for the Greek driver.
Krasonis, who started that race from 16th on the grid, somehow managed to squeeze himself past both Patrick Lemarié and Ulysse Delsaux after both drivers were turned to the inside wall as the field tripped over each other on the eleven car pile-up at the start.
Credits: NASCAR Whelen Euro Series
“I was this close to losing everything that we worked for this weekend!” admits the Marko Stipp Motorsport driver to André Wiegold immediately after the race.
In the onboard replay that was later posted on his social media accounts, Krasonis managed to brake just in time. This allowed him to only lightly tap Lemarié’s Mustang, who got turned to the right after Marc Goossens checked up on the Frenchman.
Moments later, Delsaux suddenly appeared sideways after he got turned by Ryan Vargas, who had to turn left to avoid a T-bone collision with Lemarié. Krasonis again lightly tapped his fellow competitor, but as he later described, it only left “a scratch” on his No. 46 Costamare Inc. Chevrolet Camaro.
“We escaped without any damage, basically only just a scratch, but it was crazy,” added Krasonis on how he escaped. “I chose one line to go, I escaped and that was it. We were lucky.”
The Greek admits that the Big One changed how he approached the race itself. With only 19 cars taking the restart, he decided that pushing too hard would be futile and settled for a safe but secure finish.
His decision paid off: Krasonis was able to quietly pick up more positions as more cars dropped out during the race itself. He took the checkered flag in eighth place, more than enough to secure a podium finish in the Junior Trophy sub-classification.
“On the restart, I chose a steady pace to bring it home. Like half the grid was out, there’s no point to destroy the car when there’s 15 people in the circuit,” explained the 22-year old on his restart strategy.
“We got another top-10 and we have another podium in Junior Trophy. Now it’s full push for Vallelunga, nothing more to say, top-10 after top-10 and go for the championship. We need podiums, more of them.”
Krasonis’ weekend at Valencia itself went smoothly, for the most part. A tenth place finish on Saturday’s ENPRO Race 1 meant that he managed to secure a double Junior Trophy podium finish.
Things were a bit more up-and-down in EuroNASCAR 2. A last lap mechanical issue prevented Krasonis from finishing inside the top-10 in Race 1, but he bounced back in Race 2 to finish fifth overall – a career best finish for him in the division.
“It’s a very good result with a top 5 finish in EuroNASCAR 2, redeeming myself from the unlucky DNF from EuroNASCAR 2 Race 1 of Saturday,” stated the MSM driver after the race weekend on social media.
“I would like to thank my team Marko Stipp Motorsport for providing me with a very competitive car, my sponsors and of course all motorsport fans for supporting me. The season has just begun, we will keep on pushing. See you in Italy, mid May!”
Disclaimer: Credits for all photos are listed underneath each image.